When the Political Synapse team first walked into Webb headquarters, there was no furniture, no internet, no phones, and no networking equipment. The only thing left by the previous tenant was the cabling throughout the office. In the space of twenty days and working with an organization that had next to no money, we designed and deployed a voice and data network powerful enough to serve a political campaign, while also preserving its extensibility for future growth. With only slight changes to accommodate expansion to additional floors, our initial network topology and infrastructure remained in place for the duration of the campaign.

In a race decided by fewer than 10,000 votes, every dollar mattered. Read on to learn more about how we helped Webb for Senate deploy and support high quality and reliable IT infrastructure while saving them thousands of dollars.

• Data
• Voice 

Data

The initial network design centered on a primary domain controller powered by Fedora Core Linux and Samba. The decision to use Samba was driven by its cost: free. Fedora is based on Red Hat's Enterprise versions of Linux-the difference being FC does not come with technical support while RHEL does. Our deep experience in configuring and using Samba and Linux allowed the campaign to skip the support and the thousands of dollars that come with it. Our domain provided single sign-on and information sharing across our entire network, a tremendous asset at a time when few staff members had a desk for themselves, let alone a computer. 

After winning the primary, the campaign's infrastructure needs grew to include functionality only provided by a Microsoft Small Business Server with Exchange. By leveraging our relationships with vendors we were able to save the campaign thousands of dollars on Small Business Server and its associated CALs. Deploying Small Business Server allowed us to migrate several departments over to a network offering more robust file sharing and email service, including the ability for multiple users to maintain the candidate's schedule using the powerful and familiar calendaring functionality in Outlook. Traveling staff was also able to quickly and easily see up-to-the minute status of the candidate's current schedule. 

By the end of the campaign, the Webb for Senate Northern Viriginia network included four printing stations, the Exchange Server, four to eight VoIP calling stations,  over 50 simultaneous users, and remote accessibility from around the state. In addition to the network's demonstrated extensibility, it proved extremely malleable in the days following election day. We quickly and easily incorporated large numbers of volunteer lawyers, organizers, and communications professionals into our data sharing for the crucial canvass of votes.

Members of the PolITical Synapse team directed every part of this process from initial vendor identification and contract negotiation to network deployment to server configuration and maintenance. Our ability and knowledge allowed us to save Webb for Senate thousands of dollars on their Small Business Server alone. Contact us to discover how we can help you!

Voice

The Northern Virginia voice network was powered by a Vodavi PBX system. At the end of the campaign, it included eight incoming lines, thirty extensions and voice mail boxes, two attendant stations, and hundreds of calls a day. The PBX system was buttressed by a DID fax line, eleven dedicated phone-bank lines, four war-room lines, and one dedicated line for voter protection lawyers.

The network design created by Political Synapse was able to allow the voice network to expand from twelve stations on one floor to over thirty physical stations and multiple virtual voice-mail only stations spread across two floors of the Northern Virginia headquarters. When the volunteer phone bank operation moved downstairs, we were quickly able to spread our network into the new space allowing coordinators to move with the phone bank while keeping their extensions. We used our programming knowledge to establish a backup receptionist's station, allowing incoming calls to be answered downstairs. This allowed the downstairs office to operate without opening the upstairs office.

Members of the Political Synapse team directed this process including coordinating with CLEC/ILEC installers, designing and deploying internal infrastructure including 66-blocks, split lines, shared lines, and extension mapping. We also handled all PBX programming, including extensions and voice mail, after initial installation by the vendor. This process saved Webb for Senate thousands of dollars in the process.